Meanings
verbpipe the eye (third-person singular simple present pipes the eye, present participle piping the eye, simple past and past participle piped the eye)
present singular third person pipes the eye · participle present piping the eye · participle past piped the eye · past piped the eye · alternative pipe one's eye
- archaicidiomaticTo weep.
He first began to eye his pipe, / And then to pipe his eye.
a. 1845, Thomas Hood, Faithless Sally Brown
Origin
A metaphor alluding to the boatswain's pipe, which calls to duty.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish pillittää
- pillittääto weep (expressions related to a pipe or pipes only) — see also weep
Cite this entry
APA
pipe the eye. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pipe%20the%20eye
MLA
“pipe the eye.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pipe%20the%20eye. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pipe the eye,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pipe%20the%20eye.
Source: pipe the eye on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.